Word for Word

by Rev. Lynn Groe

Matthew 11:28  - Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

These days, it seems that all of us are much too serious! People are frustrated and uptight about virtually everything – from being five minutes late, to having someone else show up five minutes late. From being stuck in traffic to seeing someone look at us wrong or say the wrong thing, from paying bills, waiting in line, overcooking a meal, or even making an honest mistake – you name it, we all lose perspective over the simplest and silliest of things in our life. Did you ever stop to think that a hundred years from now, even one year from now, perhaps even next week – no one will even care!  
The root of being uptight is our unwillingness to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectations. We want things to be a certain way, but life is never certain, and life is never exactly as we expected it. We spend all our days wanting things, people, and events to be just as we expect them to be, and when they are not, we fight against life and we suffer. So lighten up already!
The first step to overcome this uptightness is to admit that you have a problem. You have to want to change your attitude towards life, you have to want become more easygoing and laid back. When you recognize your over-seriousness as a problem of your own making, then you will be able to change things.  
The second step is to understand the link between your expectations and your frustrations. Whenever you expect something to go a certain way and it doesn’t go that way, you get upset and frustrated. If you can let go of your expectations, if you can lighten up in what you expect from life, then you will be able to accept life as it comes. To let go is to lighten up!  
So try this today: don’t expect people to be friendly. When they are not, you won’t be surprised or bothered. But if they are friendly and helpful, you will be delighted. Don’t expect your day to be trouble free; when troubles come, face that trouble as one more hurdle to jump this day. All of a sudden, you will notice just how graceful life can be. With practice, you can lighten up your life, and I know that you will have a lot more fun. Amen.